1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a firearm scope mount, and more specifically to a firearm scope mount operable to mount to a firearm's receiver and sight housing.
2. Description of Related Art
Many types of firearms developed in the former Soviet Union and surrounding countries do not include accessory mounting rails or convenient locations for mounting accessories, such as scopes. The type of firearm commonly referred to as Kalashnikov series firearms, which includes the AK-47 rifle, is one type of firearm that does not include an accessory mounting rail that is capable of mounting modern accessories to the firearm.
Kalashnikov series firearms typically have an aiming system that is commonly referred to as “iron-sights,” which consists of a tangent style rear sight housing mounted to a forward end of the receiver and a post at the end of the barrel. The rear sight housing mounts a pivoting lever arm with a notched sight that is aligned with the post and target before firing. This type of aiming system, while crudely effective, does not provide the precision now sought by military personnel and sportsmen. Because of this, there have been various attempts to develop more modern scope mounting systems for Kalashnikov series firearms to improve a user's ability to aim one of the rifles.
An early Soviet attempt at a scope mounting system consists of a mounting bracket affixed to the left side of the rifle's receiver and a scope that mounts to the mounting bracket and extends, cantilevered over the top of the receiver. Because the scope only mounts to a single location on the rifle and is cantilevered over the top of the receiver, it frequently moves and becomes misaligned as the rifle is fired or bumped. Another type of aftermarket mount is a replacement dust or receiver cover that has an integral Weaver or Picatinny rail on its top surface. These mounts also frequently move and become misaligned because the dust cover of a Kalashnikov series firearm typically fits loosely on top of the receiver. Also, because the dust cover must be removed in order to clean and service the rifle, any scope mounted to the dust cover must be realigned after the dust cover is removed and replaced.
Other types of aftermarket mounts for Kalashnikov series firearms include replacement forearm, handguard, or gas tubes having integral Picatinny or Weaver style rails. These mounts are generally undesirable for use with a scope because they position the scope too far forward on the firearm for the shooter to use it comfortably and correctly. Further, these forward mounting locations are undesirable due to the heat and shock generated in these areas by repeated firing which can damage a scope.
Conventional mount systems for Kalashnikov series firearms also do not adequately support large and/or heavy optics such as the AN/PVS-4 night vision scope especially when the rifles are in fully automatic mode. Due to the insufficient support provided by conventional mount systems, large or heavy optics become misaligned as the firearms are moved or fired.